Grants touch the lives of nearly everyone.

From 2007-2012, the US government allocated over 5.2 Trillion grant dollars nationwide. The nature and scope of a grant may vary, but accurate reporting and prudent use of grant funding is critical to becoming a grant recipient. Grantees must be accountable to grant dollars received and used in the scope of their contractual agreement. While the specific reporting components will vary, pretty much every organization awarding grants expects detailed performance and funding allocation information to justify the grant award.

Initiatives to prevent the misuse of grant funds – including failure to properly track funds- is a central priority for the federal government. Grantees or potential grantees should educate themselves on reporting requirements for their grant agreement, and ensure they are not using their grant dollars for unauthorized purposes. Properly tracking the use of funds, keeping appropriate records, maintaining easy access to those records, providing necessary reporting elements must be upheld in the legally binding grant agreement.

Grants Management 101:Document what you are doing. Document how you are doing it.

Wasp recently partnered with a Florida emergency response outfit to improve records management and reduce wasteful spending, which could have threatened future grant funding. Without the grant, the organization would not be equipped to provide critical public services and disaster relief functions to protect the health, safety and well-being of the citizens it serves.

The Florida Urban Search and Rescue – Task Force 4 (FL-TF4) maintains and uses over 5,000 emergency response tools to provide disaster relief and emergency response services in the state of Florida. Tracking equipment manually created gaps in records management and threatened the reporting process. According to Manny Washington, FL-TF4 logistics specialist:

Brian Sutter is the Director of Marketing at Wasp, responsible for the development and execution of the company’s marketing strategy. His role encompasses brand management, direct and channel marketing, public relations, advertising, and social media. He also writes and speaks on topics related to helping small business owners grow their business and improve operational efficiency.